Combining trial data suggests hydroxychloroquine benefitIn a series of randomized controlled trials, the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine did not show a statistically significant impact on the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
But when data from five of those trials were combined, researchers found that early use of the drug by people who were not hospitalized yielded a statistically significant 24% reduction in risk of infection, hospitalization or death. "The meta-analysis pools together the studies and increases statistical power," said Dr.
Joseph Ladapo of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, coauthor of a report posted on Wednesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review.